The Obama Administration has a secret backup plan to grant illegal immigrants amnesty in case Congress doesn’t pass legislation to do it, according to an internal Homeland Security document recently exposed by a conservative news magazine.

The backdoor amnesty plan, devised by high-ranking officials at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), aims to enact “meaningful immigration reform absent legislative action.” In other words, without the consent of the American people through a vote in Congress, as the news magazine that broke the story points out.

The plan calls for “relief” to “reduce the threat of removal for certain individuals present in the United States without proper authorization” in the absence of congressional action on immigration reform. The agency “can extend benefits and/or protections” to many illegal aliens if federal lawmakers fail to act, according to the 11-page memo titled Administrative Alternatives to Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

This includes “deferred action” delaying deportation indefinitely, granting green cards, allowing illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. indefinitely while they seek legal status (known as “parole in place”) and expanding the definition of “extreme hardships” so any illegal alien could meet the criteria and remain in the country.

The covert amnesty project, created by political appointees at USCIS, seems to ignore a crucial fact: The United States Constitution specifically grants Congress the authority to decide federal immigration law. Currently, the measure enacted by Congress prohibits registration of illegal entrants who are present in the country. A portion of the law even addresses classes of aliens ineligible for visas or admission by stating that an alien present in the United States without being admitted or paroled, or who arrives in the United States at any time or place other than as designated by the Attorney General is inadmissible.